With the improvement of living standards, cigars as a relatively expensive form of tobacco have become increasingly popular. Before a cigar can be smoked, it is required to cut off one closed end of the cigar (generally known as the cap), render the cut into a hollow shape, and light the other end of the cigar (generally known as the foot). Nowadays, the cigar cap is typically cut off with a cigar cutter, as opposed to being bitten off by the smoker. After all, biting the cap off not only will fill the smoker's mouth with tobacco, but also will make a ragged cut that prevents the cigar from burning evenly when smoked. This is undesirable because, should a cigar burn unevenly, the taste and flavor of the cigar will be compromised. Only with a cigar cutter can a smooth cut be made on a cigar to bring out the most flavor of the cigar and, for esthetic reasons, keep the cigar wrapper from fraying.
A common cigar cutter is now briefly described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The cigar cutter 1 includes a bottom housing portion 11, a top housing portion 13, a fixed handle 15, and a movable handle 17. The bottom housing portion 11 and the top housing portion 13 are put together to form a housing 10 (see FIG. 2). The bottom housing portion 11 and the top housing portion 13 are respectively formed with through holes 110, 130 that correspond to each other and penetrate the bottom housing portion 11 and the top housing portion 13 respectively. The bottom housing portion 11 has one end coupled to one end of the fixed handle 15. A fixed knife 151 is received between the bottom housing portion 11 and the top housing portion 13 and has a blade partially covering the through holes 110, 130. One end of the movable handle 17 is movably provided at the other end of the bottom housing portion 11 and extends into the housing 10 (i.e., in between the bottom housing portion 11 and the top housing portion 13). This end of the movable handle 17 is provided with a movable knife 171 which, once the movable handle 17 is moved to a position defining the closed state of the cigar cutter 1, covers the remaining part of the through holes 110, 130 completely. When the movable handle 17 is so moved that the cigar cutter 1 enters the open state, the movable knife 171 leaves the aforesaid remaining part of the through holes 110, 130 totally uncovered (see FIG. 2). A user may insert the cap 2 of a cigar into the through holes 110, 130 when the cigar cutter 1 is in the open state and then, by pushing the movable handle 17, bring the cigar cutter 1 into the closed state to cut off the cap 2 smoothly.
However, the cigar cutter 1 has its drawbacks in use. First of all, referring back to FIG. 1, the movable handle 17 must be manually pulled or pushed in order to open or close the cigar cutter 1. Secondly, when the cigar cutter 1 is in the open state, no positioning effect is provided. Therefore, to keep the cigar cutter 1 in the open state, a user must apply forces to the handles 15, 17 of the cigar cutter 1 continuously, preventing the movable knife 171 from covering the aforesaid remaining part of the through holes 110, 130; otherwise, the user may have problem inserting the cap 2 into the through holes 110, 130. It can be known from the above that the conventional cigar cutter 1 still has room for improvement, particularly in terms of convenience of use.
Given the high prices of cigars, cigar accessories are very expensive, too; nevertheless, cigar aficionados have shown strong consumption power and are willing to spend on these accessories. Of the various cigar accessories, cigar cutters are undoubtedly an indispensable item to be carried around by cigar smokers. Hence, a practical, easily operable, and esthetically pleasing cigar cutter is bound to be a highly sought-after product among cigar enthusiasts and will create tremendous profit for the manufacturer. The problem facing the cigar-related product industry nowadays is to design a novel cigar cutter structure which can overcome the drawbacks of the conventional cigar cutters and provide enhanced convenience of use.